Concentration Control of Living Organisms in Fluid

Abstract

The invention comprises a method, a device and a fish-farm for controlling the concentration of living organisms in fluid in order to facilitate the handling of the organisms such as grading and counting. Said apparatus comprises a first in-feed channel for a flow of living organism in a fluid (1), a second in-feed channel for a flow of fluid (2), a chamber (4) containing a lever (11) for regulating the flow from the first and the second in-feed channel through the chamber, an outlet (15), and a computer, wherein a sensor (9) is positioned in the first in-feed channel for detecting the density of living organism in the flow, and wherein the computer continuously and automatically regulates the ratio of flow from the first and the second in-feed channel through the chamber and towards the outlet by the lever in response to the density of living organism in the flow determined by the sensor.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION[0001]The invention comprises a method, a device and a system for controlling the concentration of living organisms in water in order to facilitate the handling of the organisms such as grading and counting. The invention is suited for handling live fish in fish-farming.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0002]The prior art in the field shows various devices for counting and sorting organisms in water were the object is to give the optimal registration of number and size. These devices are often limited in their capacity of processing large amounts of fish in a short time interval. The relatively unstable concentration of the fish in water, that goes through the handling systems means that they need to be designed to handle peak density. If not, the devices will not be functioning at full capacity during most of the sorting and counting process.[0003]In order to prevent overloading of the equipment, some prior art inventions have solved the problem by reducing the spee...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

The present invention provides a method and device for optimal registration of organisms in fluid by regulating the concentration and speed of flow of organisms. The device is easily integrated into existing handling systems in fish farms and is less bulky than known systems used for the same purpose. The invention provides a non-touch method for counting living organisms in fluid and allows an increased pump rate. The control mechanism controls the concentration of living organisms in a flow of fluid by regulating the ratio of flow from the in-feed channels based on the density of living organisms in the flow determined by a sensor. The invention also allows an automatic and real-time way of controlling concentration of living organisms in a flow of fluid and provides a more constant concentration of flow of living organisms in a fluid. Overall, the device with its sensor and control mechanism provides improved efficiency and ease of use in fish farms.

Problems solved by technology

The high variance of concentration during counting and sorting forces manufacturers of fish counters and graders to design the instruments so that they can handle a wide range of concentration, which increases manufacturing cost and reduces efficiency of the equipment.

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